Nick Saban praises Chip Kelly, talks new NCAA rules

Posted by: Josh Kendall on Wednesday January 23, 2013

Nick Saban stopped Tuesday during a trip to the Senior Bowl practices to speak to the media, and touched on several subjects, including Chip Kelly and the new NCAA rules regarding recruiting contact.

"I am excited for Chip," Saban said. "He has done a fantastic job, been a real innovator in college football with some of the things he's done. We have a tremendous amount of respect for the great job he did at Oregon and the success he had there. He'll do just fine in the NFL."

There are a few key phases where Kelly will have to be able to adjust to be successful in professional football, said Saban, who spent two years with the Miami Dolphins.

"How you bring players to your team is different, how you manage your squad is a little different than the way you motivate younger players and to be able to make those transitions is a real key to being successful," Saban said.

As for new recruiting rules that will allow more contact through things like text messaging, Saban stopped well short of fully supporting the change.

"I think it's always important to be able to communicate. I think it's a fine line between how much you need to communicate to be effective at doing it, how much attention somebody really needs to get," he said. "I think we all have to be conscious that we all have a responsibility and obligation to give our time and attention to the team we have on campus right now. I'm not just concerned about recruiting the next player. I'm concerned about the guys we've already recruited. To balance that, I think the rules should reflect that."

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Josh Kendall is a staff writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered the SEC for more than 15 years for papers such as the Athens Banner-Herald, Macon Telegraph, and The State. He’s the father of two boys who he’s hoping don’t inherit his wide receiver frame and offensive guard feet. Follow @EyeOnCoaches on twitter and send your feedback to josh@coachingsearch.com

Josh Kendall is a staff writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered the SEC for more than 15 years for papers such as the Athens Banner-Herald, Macon Telegraph, and The State. He’s the father of two boys who he’s hoping don’t inherit his wide receiver frame and offensive guard feet. Follow @EyeOnCoaches on twitter and send your feedback to josh@coachingsearch.com